The person behind her volunteered to pay it forward, as did the next person. The St. Petersburg Starbucks employees eventually started a tally on a green laminated paper posted near the drive-through window, the Tribune reported.

Hours later, at 1:30 p.m., the chain was still intact. It had reached 260 customers.

One customer, Tim Burnside, 19, had visited earlier in the morning and returned to see if people were still paying it forward. The chain had not been broken and he ordered another drink, keeping it alive.[sharequote align=”right”]”It’s nice just to do a random act of kindness for someone you don’t know.”[/sharequote]

“It’s nice just to do a random act of kindness for someone you don’t know,” Burnside told the Tribune.

378 people later, the phenomenon was still going. Then entered customer 379.

The baristas informed the individual — a woman driving a white jeep — about what was going on and asked if she’d like to pay it forward. She declined and said she just wanted to pay for her $2.25 drink and wasn’t interested in picking up the next customer’s tab, the Tribune reported.

The barista told the Tribune it appeared the woman didn’t understand the concept of paying it forward.

Regardless, participants said the simple, unexpected act of kindness connected them to absolute strangers and had a positive impact on their day.

Menu

Get TheBlaze Newsletters

Community Rules

Speak your mind. Please be respectful of our rules and community. Asking people to upvote you or your post are not allowed. No spam, abuse, obscenities, off-topic comments, racial or ethnic slurs, threats, hate, comments that incite violence or excessive use of flagging permitted.

Please be respectful of our community and spread some love. Any of the following may result in a permanent ban:

Spam

Abusive

Obscene language

Obscene photos

Off-topic comments

Racial or ethnic slurs

Threats of any kind

Hate messages

Excessive use or the flagging (report as spam) feature

Asking people to upvote your comments or posts

For more information, please see our Terms of Use. Now, go have fun and speak your mind!